Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to the use of aluminum fluoride for the treatment and reduction of the effects of actinic keratosis and sun-induced damages.
Related Art in the Field
Actinic keratosis (AK), also known as solar keratosis, is a precancerous skin lesion that often appears as thick, scaly or crusty patches on an erythematous skin. These lesions of skin can eventually develop into erosions, plaques, ulcers and finally into skin carcinomas. Lesions associated with the condition usually range between 2 and 6 millimeters in size macroscopically. Actinic keratosis often affects the middle-aged or elderly, with Caucasian males between the ages of 65 and 74 having the greatest risk of developing actinic keratosis. However, in genetically sensitive individuals, the disease might start at the third to fourth decade (Andrews 2000). The anatomical basis of AK is related to clinical poikiloderma, a mixed skin disturbance related to skin thinning, proliferation and visualization of blood vessels, fine wrinkling and hyper or hypopigmentation.
Existing treatments of actinic keratosis (Fenske et al, 2010) include topical treatments using active ingredients such as:                5-Fluorouracil, a highly irritative and efficacious compound with about half of patients suffering from skin irritance;        Ingenol, a short term irritative treatment which is administered initially but without ability to control the dosing and a relatively weak results 6 months after treatment;        Tretinoin or retinoids, an adjunct to therapy which are less therapeutic, highly irrititive and used for prevention;        Imiquimod, an immune response modulator. It is irritative, and only part of patients do respond to treatment with it;        Diclofenac, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory which shows weak responses;        Mechanical treatments such as cryotherapy, surgical excisions, curettage or electrodesiccation to remove lesions associated with actinic keratosis but which do not control the disease, nor the exact area affected by the AK; and        Photodynamic therapy to sensitize lesions to light by 5-aminolevulinic acid a relatively low efficacy treatment.        
Therefore, there is a definitive need for the efficacious and convenient treatment of the AK precancerous lesions, wherein the new treatment does not suffers the disadvantages of previous treatments and is efficient, safe, non-toxic and non-irritative.